Shloka 4
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
यथा हि सर्वास्वापत्सु पासि वृष्णीनरिंदम । तथा ते पाण्डवा रक्ष्या: पाह्ुस्मानू महतो भयात्,'शत्रुदमन! जैसे आप वृष्णिवंशियोंकी सब प्रकारकी आपत्तियोंसे रक्षा करते हैं, उसी प्रकार आपको पाण्डवोंकी भी रक्षा करनी चाहिये। प्रभो! इस महान् भयसे आप हमारी रक्षा कीजिये'
yathā hi sarvāsv āpatsu pāsi vṛṣṇīn ariṃdama | tathā te pāṇḍavā rakṣyāḥ pāhi asmān ū mahato bhayāt ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Bezwinger der Feinde! Wie du die Vṛṣṇi in jeder Notlage schützt, so musst du auch die Pāṇḍava schützen. Herr, rette uns aus dieser großen Gefahr!“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames protection as a dharmic obligation of a powerful ally: the same steadfast guardianship shown to one’s own people should extend to those who have sought refuge and stand in a just cause, especially in times of grave danger.
In the tense lead-up to war, an appeal is made to a mighty protector—addressed as ‘subduer of foes’—to extend to the Pāṇḍavas the same protective support he gives the Vṛṣṇis, and to rescue them from an imminent, overwhelming threat.